Earlier this year, we partnered with a premium resort in Bali to expand their reach and grow their bookings within the Chinese market. 

Our first campaign was focused on promoting Chinese New Year packages through targeted Rednote advertising. 

The results speak for themselves:

• Total investment: Around $2,750 USD

• Combined impressions: 200,000+

• Private messages (leads): 350+

• Total revenue generated: Around $52,000

• ROI: 1,790% (18x return on investment)

There are 3 secret sauces for this successful campaign. 

1. Algorithm-oriented content approach

2. Audience-first ad targeting and optimization

3. Multi-channel sales facilitation

Algorithm-Oriented Content

Every single post published on Rednote will first be read and evaluated by its sophisticated algorithms to determine whether it has potential to become a popular post. If so, the algorithm automatically “gifts” more free traffic to this post.

In order to hit the "sweet spot”, so to speak, of the algorithm, we created six different versions of the same package information. In Chinese social media marketing, this is called “horse racing.”

Audience-First Ad

After publishing, we monitored the performance data on an almost hourly basis. We selected the two best performing posts and turned them into ads through Rednote’s advertising system, Juguang.

We calibrated the ads to target to be Chinese travelers aged 25-40 from tier-1 and tier-2 cities just before and during Chinese New Year period, when travel intent peaks.

We ran the ads for the first 8 days, and then repeated the process to make sure all the content are fresh and engaging with the algorithm, effectively captured users actively planning holiday trips.

Multi-Channel Strategy

The ads generated over 300 inbound enquiries — or “Private Messages Initiated” according to Rednote’s vocabulary. Our team replied to all the enquiries within the first 4 hours to ensure the optimal engagement.

High value customers — customers who showed genuine interest in purchasing the packages — were directed to WeChat, where our team followed up with them and facilitated the purchase alongside the resort’s reservation team.

Juguang dashboard

Key Takeaways

Rednote Delivers: Although it’s not the platform with the most users, Rednote is by far the most effective app to generate genuine interest for luxury hotels and resorts, thanks to the platform’s high concentration of affluent, lifestyle-minded Chinese urban population. Also, increasingly, Rednote is replacing Baidu and other traditional search engine to become the first choice for search, meaning some of the SEO principles can now be applied to the social media apps.

Platform-Specific Content Works: Authentic storytelling significantly outperformed generic luxury imagery. The package collection post achieved the highest CTR (7.72%) and lowest CPC, proving that “useful” content outperforms “pretty” content.

Optimization Drives Exponential Returns: By analyzing first campaign data, we refined targeting and creative approach, resulting in dramatically improved cost-per-lead and ROI metrics in the second campaign sequence.

Seamless Customer Journey: Integrating Rednote discovery with WeChat customer service created a natural progression for Chinese users, resulting in strong conversion rates despite complex booking processes.

When done right, social advertising in China can indeed deliver exceptional returns.

China kicks off its 7-day National Day Holiday (aka. Golden Week) this week. Many Chinese luxury travelers are on their way to their destinations as you read this newsletter.

The next major holiday for Chinese luxury travelers is the Chinese New Year 2026, which falls on February 17. Just 4 months away.

Want your resort to be their next destination? Book a call.